Virtual tour of the exhibition “Świadectwo poMOCY” available online!
The immersive project of the New Technology Division of the Institute of National Remembrance “Świadectwo poMOCY”, which consists of two parts: a moving etude about the fate of the heroic Ulma family from Markowa in Subcarpathia and a virtual tour along with an exhibition can now be viewed in its entirety at bnt.ipn.gov.pl
The virtual tour and exhibition, carried out on the basis of IPN sources, among others, take the viewer to a twilight-shrouded room that is gently illuminated by spotlights. It invites for a virtual encounter with contemporary history with a peculiar mood.
While exploring the space, the viewer walks past old chairs on which modern goggles for viewing the exhibition in VR (Virtual Reality) technology have been placed. This allows everyone to immerse themselves in a computer-generated three-dimensional world, which is viewed in 360 degrees. Modern technologies allow the viewer to peek into distant history and encounter it “face to face,” engaging all the senses intensively.
From the twilight emerge illuminated photos of an exhibition dedicated to the Ulma family, which was beatified on September 10 this year, becoming a role model for humanity and an example of heroic virtues, especially the virtue of love of neighbour. This modest, decent family from a village in Subcarpathia became a symbol of humanity in the inhumane times of World War II.
The barbaric laws of Nazi Germany in force in occupied Poland at the time threatened the death penalty for anyone who dared to help Jews. Without thinking twice, the Ulma family decided to give their Jewish neighbors shelter in their own home.
Unfortunately, due to the denunciation of Włodzimierz Leś, an officer of Blue Police from Łańcut, on March 24, 1944, an unimaginable tragedy occurred in the Ulma family home. The Germans murdered the Jews hiding in the house and the entire Ulma family – Józef and Wiktoria, their six children, together with their seventh, still unborn child.
It is worth mentioning that Włodzimierz Leś was sentenced to death by a court of the Polish Underground State. This sentence was carried out on December 10, 1944.
This tragic and heartbreaking story is brought closer by the photographs attached to the virtual exhibition, which include those of Mateusz Szpytma, PhD – Deputy President of the IPN and a relative of the murdered Ulma family. The photographs come from the album entitled “Sprawiedliwi i ich świat. Markowa w fotografii Józefa Ulmy”.